<p>Right now I go to a private prep school and my GPA is less than great. I'm probably in the last quartile. My school is very competitive, and before I came to my school i was 2/130 in public school. The average SAT is a 1950. My 9-10 GPA is a 2.914, and my first semester GPA is approximately a 3.2 with 3 APs. </p>
<p>Is it too late in the game to switch schools for senior year, back to my old public school where I would have a 4.0 and possibly be valedictorian? I was bound for Yale before I came to my new school, and was accepted to all the top private schools in my area. Now, schools like Yale are very, very unlikely. </p>
<p>I guess a lot would depend on why you switched schools in the first place. Do those reasons still apply?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t advise switching schools simply for college apps. GPA and val status are just one of many aspects schools consider. Are your courses more challenging at the private school?</p>
<p>I applied to private high school because I wanted to be challenged. I don’t really know why I haven’t thrived in the environment I’m in now. I didn’t really take advantage of it I guess, and I thought that I would stand a better chance at getting into any college just because of my school, but I’m not that naive now. I know that if I had stayed in my public school, I would have so many more options for college than I will now, regardless if I transfer. </p>
<p>Another option is to transfer to a private Catholic school. It would still be challenging (but doable for me), and I could maintain a rigorous curriculum. The problem is, my school is extremely flexible for the courses I can take. Right now, I’m taking AP English, AP US History, AP Spanish, French III, International Relations, Precalculus, and Honors Physics. The Catholic school would limit me to 5 academic classes, so I could only take one foreign language and one history class. My schedule would still be rigorous, nonetheless.</p>
<p>Since many applications go in during the fall months, I don’t know how much senior year grades will help your GPA. </p>
<p>Many schools mostly use grades 9-11 to determine acceptance.</p>
<p>BTW…are you sure about that Catholic school? My kids’ Catholic school had 8 periods, so a student could take 7 academic classes. I realize not all are alike.</p>
<p>I really doubt a public school will let a new student be the valedictorian with a previous record of about 3.0. They should take your prior grades into account.</p>
<p>Your time at the rigorously academic private school may have given you a window into what your life would be like at a top college and saved you some stress. Get a hold of your midyear transcripts and wait for your SAT/ACT scores before making any decisions. This should tell you where you will line up and where you should apply.</p>
<p>Where do you plan to apply for college? If you are looking at colleges that are familiar with your prep school, it helps, but if you are looking at colleges on the opposite coast, who don’t really know much about your school, I would switch.</p>
<p>Approximately 20% of each graduating class go to Ivy League schools, with many more going to top LACs, Stanford, Duke, etc. 20 - 25% of each senior class are NMSF qualifiers. Even though my school is small, colleges know of its caliber, but I know for a fact based on Naviance that applicants with my GPA do not get into top, top schools.</p>
<p>It seems highly unusual that you could go to a school for senior year only and become val. Even if possible, that won’t be determined until after applications are due.</p>
<p>Colleges will largely choose whether or not to admit you based on your first 3 years. It doesn’t make sense to transfer now. You will miss the possible leadership positions seniors get and teachers who know you well for writing recs.</p>
<p>I would focus on getting the highest scores you can, get into a decent college and do very well. Many below the top 25 or so will give you big points for just surviving at a tough prep school. You will then be a good candidate for transfer if a top school remains important to you.</p>
<p>Having such a low GPA, no matter how hard your school is, indicates that you are probably not as smart as you think you are. Which means that at your public school, there’s probably not that good a chance that you would even get that 4.0…</p>
<p>Your biases include the fact that you were at MOST a freshman when you were ranked 2nd in your class. Hopefully it should be obvious that school (even high school) gets much harder after freshman year. And judging by your performance at your new school, you might not be suited for Yale no matter where you went to high school.</p>
<p>It is EXTREMELY ignorant for you to assume that if you transferred you would automatically have that 4.0 and be valedictorian. I would have imagined that after 2 years of getting your intellectual butt handed to you, you’d be more humbled.</p>
<p>I don’t want to sound too mean, since obviously your dreams of going to Yale are basically shattered. But come on, you have to admit that your premise is rather ridiculous.</p>